As two prominent figures in the world of mountain biking, Haley Batten and Christopher Blevins have captivated audiences with their exceptional skills and unwavering dedication to their sport. Their visit to Bentonville for the LIFE TIME Big Sugar Gravel and Little Sugar Mountain Bike races presented a unique opportunity to ask them about how they view the trails and bicycle culture of Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas. In this exclusive interview, Batten and Blevins share insights into their time in Bentonville both on the trails and enjoying the town.
Haley Batten
Haley Batten, a bright star in mountain biking, began her cycling journey in Park City, Utah, and has since represented the United States at the highest levels of international competition including as an Elite Women’s National Team Member, Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Paris 2024 Olympic Silver Medalist. Balancing her professional career with academic pursuits at Quest University, Batten has also made a significant impact on the mountain biking scene in Northwest Arkansas, where she frequently trains and races. Batten is currently studying Liberal Arts and Sciences at Quest University in Squamish, British Columbia. With a keen interest in the intersection of neuroscience and education, she is dedicated to exploring how science can be applied to enhance the learning process and engage students more deeply. Although she didn’t race in the LIFE TIME Little Sugar Mountain Bike Race, she did win the Elite Women’s 100K last year.
Batten: “I think I started coming to the area when they had one of the first U.S. Cups in Fayetteville. And ever since then, I’ve been hopping in and out almost every year. I spend a lot of time in Europe as well for races. So it’s not often that I get quality time in Europe or the U.S. in general. Whenever I’m here, it’s honestly so cool. I love it every time.”
Batten: “The main thing that makes me so excited about Bentonville is that I appreciate cycling-friendly communities. I study education and I am passionate about the benefits that cycling for all people has on mental and physical health. For young students, if you can ride your bike to school it helps the brain to focus. It also increases the happiness of whole communities. I like having a place that truly celebrates and creates an infrastructure including bike paths, trails, and accessibility for people to get around. It just makes me excited to have a place that likes biking as much as I do.”
Batten: “Yes, I love that there are so many cafes and great food here. It’s so awesome. I’m at the end of my season now, so I’m just enjoying going out, you know, for coffee with friends and a nice dinner, and to be able to bike on the bike path there is just so, so awesome.”
Batten: “You rarely have a place that has the full package of the type of terrain that a World Cup or even an Olympic course might have. I mean, Paris was unique because it was fast, high-speed riding, but it also had jumps, it had super loose corners, and it had rock gardens. Bentonville has all of that. You have loose, cornering trails, you have jump trails, you have rock gardens. Not a lot of places in the world have all of those types of features where you can put them all together into one ride or a training session. So to be able to come to a place where you can practice all of that, not just for me, but for the future of our sport and creating very skilled, world-class riders, it’s beneficial to come to a place like this to train and be able to practice that type of skill set, which is awesome.”
Christopher Blevins
Christopher Blevins’ journey in cycling began at the age of five, when his father placed him at the starting gate of a BMX track, as he was too young to clip in and out of his pedals on his own. Growing up in Durango, Colorado, he spent his youth traveling across the country for BMX nationals, winning the national age group championship eight times. At age 12, Christopher Blevins expanded his cycling pursuits to include mountain and road racing, a natural fit for a kid growing up in Durango, Colorado. He rode with Durango DEVO, alongside riders like Howard Grotts and Sepp Kuss, honing his skills while keeping the focus on fun. Blevins won cross-country (XC) nationals in his age group every year from 13 to 19, and road nationals at 16. At 15, he made his first trip to Europe to race with USA Cycling, returning each year for road and mountain competitions. His standout junior road racing win came at the Course de la Paix in the Czech Republic, earning him a spot on Axel Merckx’s Hagens Berman Axeon team. Balancing road and mountain biking through his early U23 career, he won U23 cyclocross nationals, a stage at the Tour of the Gila, and placed second at the 2018 Cross-Country World Championship. After 2019, he focused on mountain biking with an eye on the Tokyo and Paris Olympics where he finished 13th. Most recently, Blevins secured a win at the LIFE TIME Little Sugar Mountain Bike Race, continuing to add to his impressive career.
Blevins: “So I’ve come to Fayetteville for probably four or five years now. A lot of races in Centennial Park and then every year I come up here for at least a day. This is the longest time I’ve had here. Yesterday we certainly got a lot of riding in pretty much every trail system. I’ve had a couple of fun days in Coler and every time I come, I’m more and more impressed with the trails.”
Blevins: I like that you can feel that the community is so present and wrapped around bikes it is quite special and easy to go downtown and see people you know and meet new people. It’s special because I don’t know of any place else where if you show up on your bike it’s normal. I’m from Durango where there are amazing trail systems and you’ve got the high country riding at 10,000 feet but what you have here is not only the trail systems that are good for someone like me who’s been on my bike you know my whole life but you also have art pieces that are integrated with the trails People commute more on bikes here than Durango. I also went to Crystal Bridges (Museum of American Art) which is amazing we went to the Forest Light Experience a few days ago.”
Blevins: “It was amazing, it was about 95% singletrack. It went by fast because I was so focused on the next corner and rock section. This area is famous for its loose, rocky terrain. It makes you think about equipment and line choice, it’s good to race on. I don’t think I’ve ever ridden that much singletrack in a day, certainly not raced on that much. It was cool that you felt like you were out there and at the same time you were in Bella Vista riding through neighborhoods.”
